Battle for the soul of Iran

Can external pressure have any influence inside the country to change the regime?

It has been six weeks since Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was re-elected as Iran's president and the controversy over the presidential elections goes on.

Ahmedinejad has been forced to dismiss his most senior deputy after a week of pressure from Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Supreme leader, telling him that appointing Esfandiar Rahim Mashaie as vice-president was "against your interest and the interests of the government".

In the letter Ayatollah Khamenei said: "It is necessary to announce the cancellation of this appointment."

On the same weekend campaigners all over the world took to the streets in a mass organised protest. They and Human Rights organisations have been calling for the Iranian leadership to release political prisoners.

Is internal political fighting on the verge of forcing a regime change in Iran? And can external pressure have any influence inside the country?

Inside Story presenter Imran Garda is joined by Baqer Moin, a journalist and author of the book Khomeini: Life Of The Ayatollah, Kian Mokhtari, a columnist and commentator in Tehran, and Kenneth Katzman, a Persian affairs analyst at the Congressional Research Service in Washington DC.